Apple sells 9 million iPhones in debut weekend

'Those numbers blew away anything I could have imagined'

Published: 09/23/2013 at 3:50 PM

(BLOOMBERG) Apple Inc. (AAPL) sold a record 9 million iPhones in the weekend debut of two new models, as consumers flocked to stores to buy handsets with more colorful options and fingerprint-reading technology.

Sales almost doubled the previous record even amid supply constraints for the iPhone 5s, the higher-end version of the two smartphones, Apple said in a statement today. The results, the first to include opening sales in China, also led Apple to say that quarterly revenue and gross margin will be at the top end of a prior forecast.

“While we’ve sold out of our initial supply of iPhone 5s, stores continue to receive new iPhone shipments regularly,” Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook said in the statement. “We appreciate everyone’s patience and are working hard to build enough new iPhones for everyone.”